Billy Joel exhibit closing with silent auction, door prizes

When the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame exhibit "Billy Joel: My Life, A Piano Man’s Journey" closes after two years on Oct. 25 fans will have a chance to bring some of "My Life" into their own life: The Stony Brook institution’s "Billy Joel Collectors Presentation" that day at 2 p.m. will include both a silent auction of Joel items and a door prize of one of six collectibles dating back to 1987.

"We've done silent auctions in the past as fundraising events as part of our induction galas," the venue's general manager, Barry Fisch, said, "but we've never done it at the museum itself. So this will be the first time." And though the museum has done promotional giveaways, "We’ve never had a door-prize scenario." The event is free with a Hall of Fame admission ticket.

Collectors Paul Fierro and Eric Fellen, who had lent the hall many items for the exhibit, devised the idea, Fisch said, putting up their own items: a pair of pins from Joel’s July 1987 Russian Tour; "Live From Long Island" promotional matches; autographed photos of former Joel drummer and LIMEHOF inductee Liberty DeVitto; a birthday hat and plastic mug from Joel’s 70th birthday concert at Madison Square Garden; flyers from Joel’s free show for military members during his 1990 Storm Front tour; and 16 key chains from Joel’s 2006 World Tour.

"These guys, it's a passion for them," Fisch said of Fierro and Fellen, New Jerseyites who had known each other through collectors’ circles but independently contacted the Hall of Fame to offer loans of their items. "I've seen this with superfans of other artists or inductees as well. And it's their love and their passion to be able to do this so the public can see the things they have acquired instead of it just sitting in a box in their home."

The exhibit of memorabilia, instruments, recordings, videos and photos, many from Joel’s personal archives, was curated by Art Directors Club Hall of Famer Kevin O’Callaghan. It chronicled the five-decade career of the Hicksville-raised singer-songwriter whose more than two dozen hits include "Piano Man" (1974), "Uptown Girl" (1983) and "The River of Dreams" (1993).

While some of the 100-plus items in the 3,000-square-foot exhibit that launched on Nov. 23, 2023, will be returned to Joel and others who lent material, the Hall of Fame will retain several items and possibly include new ones in a smaller, permanent Joel display. One item remaining: The 9-foot piano Joel used on his "Face 2 Face Tour" with Elton John.

Will Fierro and Fellen donate anything to the Hall's permanent collection? "Who knows," Fisch said. "Maybe they'll say, ‘Well, why don't you keep this, I have no use for it anymore.’ I'm guessing they would like to have some representation in the museum to show that these items were donated by them, and they'd be credited as such."

Replacing the retrospective on Nov. 28 will be two new exhibits that the organization has yet to announce.